Truth's Heavy Burden
by writinglover23
Summary: Special Agent Maggie Bell thinks she knows her partner, OA Zidan pretty well after working together for nearly 4 years. That is, until he takes a shot that's meant for her.


I'm a huge fan of FBI, and I thought the world needed more fanfics of it. I am in love with all the characters, and I thought I could write a little story featuring all of them. None of them belong to me, just Dick Wolf and other creators of the show and CBS.

* * *

We were just supposed to be partners, but I guess the world has a screwed up way of telling you the truth. I realized that when I was with him, bending over him him, blocking the bullet entry on his chest. It was no use though. The blood was seeping around my fingers, and I couldn't stop it. At this rate, OA was going to bleed out on the plaza in front of hundreds of passerby's still running for their lives. We hadn't seen the gunman-knew he was even there until OA had seen the barrel of a gun. We hadn't pulled our weapons fast enough, and now he had taken the shot that was meant for me. He had leapt in front of me to save me, pushing me out of the way and he was now paying the price. I didn't remember calling for help, but I must have. As the blood stain on the front of his white dress shirt grew larger with each passing second, he started to sway on his feet, until I stepped forward and helped him to the ground.

"Mags" he managed to croak out.

"Shh, it's ok. You're going to be ok. Help's on the way. It's 2 minutes out. Stay with me."

And as the distant wail of sirens pierced the cold November night sky, I was given news that shook me to the core.

"Maggie… I love you. I've always loved you."

"Very funny. Don't screw around with me OA." I chastised him, although I didn't care what he said, as long as he was still conscious. Because if he was still conscious, he was still alive.

"I'm not…" he paused and took a heaving gulp. His body was shaking- he was going into shock.

"I do…" his breaths were becoming more shallow and his voice becoming fainter. All the blood had drained from his face. Warm blood was still seeping out of the bullet wound at an alarming rate.

"Love you, Mags" he breathed out, almost so quietly I could have missed it. His eyes had shut, and he was no longer struggling against my grip.

"OA!"

As he lay there dying in my arms, the help must have arrived, for the next thing I knew, Jubal was helping me up, and the paramedics immediately sprung into action, checking his stats and loading him on the board. In that moment, I realized two things. That nothing would ever be the same again, and that somehow along the way, I too had fallen in love with him.

* * *

3 hours ago

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked not believing the story he was telling me.

He just looked at me with that smile that could melt a heart of ice. How was the guy still single? A lot of women were into him- they constantly flirted with him when we were out on a case. It was actually really annoying, but thankfully he never led them on. He turned each and every one of them down. I was glad he had a good work ethic and everything, but I hadn't even heard about any girlfriends in his private life. I didn't mean that there weren't any, but I was glad that if he did, he kept it to himself.

Wait, what? What was I thinking? This was OA. We had been assigned as partners for just over 4 years now, and in that time, we had become really close friends. Together, we had cracked hundreds of cases for the FBI, and had survived nearly anything you could possibly think of: bombings, hostage situations, chemical attacks- everything. Why was I thinking about my best friend like that?

"Nope. The guy was a complete idiot for thinking he could outrun me." His response suddenly brought me out of my thoughts. Focus, Maggie.

That's for sure. OA was in incredible shape, and I would laugh if someone even dared to try. Honestly it was half terrifying, half amusing seeing him chase down a suspect. We had just wrapped up a case, and we were going out for dinner and drinks to celebrate. Another perp was behind bars, and with the evidence we had managed to gather, it was clear that he was going to stay there for a long, long time. Instead of going to the one a couple of blocks down, we decided last minute to go to a fancier place on 42nd.

"You did really good today, Mags," OA said with another cute smile. I just clapped him on the arm and just said, "Thanks, you too."

I know it wasn't the kindest thing to do, but OA knew me by now. I didn't react when he complimented me. I didn't react when anybody complimented me. It was like it was programmed into my brain. As much as I wanted to compliment him back, telling him I thought he had been amazing when he chased down our suspect and when he managed to interrogate the truth out of him, I couldn't. I was Maggie Bell, and I couldn't open up. It was far too dangerous. For both him, and me. We were both pretty private people, him a lot more than me, but when we were together like this, he tended to be more open and playful, and I ended up being closed and boring.

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. We made light conversation the 30 minutes it took to get to the nice bar/restaurant. When we pulled up to the pretty well known establishment and parked, he launched a bombshell on me.

"Hey Maggie, I know we've been partners for a long time, and I consider you my best friend. Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure." This was unusual.

"How do I tell this woman that I love her?"

Unexplainable jealousy started to fill me. So there was someone in his life. This woman must be pretty special for an amazing guy like OA to fall for her. Why should I care though? I should be happy for him, right?

"I know this is kind of a weird question, but I just wanted a female perspective."

"And you couldn't have asked your mom or sisters?" I spat out, much harsher than I intended it to sound. Man, I had to get control over myself.

"Sorry, I just thought that you would have some advice or something." He looked away, slightly guilty that he asked.

I took a deep breath. "No, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I think that if you really love her, than you should tell her."

"Really?"

"Yeah of course. Have I met this lucky lady before? "

"Not really."

I was just about to question his cryptic answer, when he reached for the door handle and got out. I guess that was the end of the conversation. We made our way through the parking lot onto the strip. It was a busy Friday night, and it seemed like everyone was going to this place. The wind gusted, and I wrapped my thin windbreaker around me a bit tighter. Why didn't I stop to grab a coat? It was November in New York City for cryin' out loud. I had been living here for over 5 years, and I still made lousy choices when it came to the weather…

"Here, take mine," OA said as he stopped to slip off his fleece outer jacket.

"No thanks." I didn't want to be a burden. Besides, it was my own fault for being dumb. I should live with the consequences.

"Come on, it's below freezing out here," he insisted. I looked up to make eye contact with him, and he gave me that dumb smirk. "And if you end up getting sick, I'll have to do more paperwork."

I lightly punched him for that one. He just laughed it off. Ugh, he made me so mad sometimes.

"Fine, give me the jacket," I relented and gave in.

He just gave me that shit-eating grin of his again. Holding out the jacket, I stepped forward to take it but he suddenly raised his arm, lifting it above his head.

'Asshole' I muttered under my breath. Of course he would make me do this. Jumping up was useless. He had a good foot on me, and I was not going to resort to begging. So, I did the first thing that I thought of. I gripped his tie, pulled him down so he was inches away from my face, and kissed his cheek. The action momentarily stunned him, and I was able to reach up and twist the jacket away from him.

Maggie:1, OA:0.

As I slipped on the jacket that was way too big for me, I just looked up and smirked at the expression on his face.

"Thanks for the jacket!" I called out, as I walked away from him. This was just too much fun.

10 minutes later, I stepped into the dimly lit bar/club that was of Claire's. It was a nice little place that served some of the best food and drinks in all of NYC and had great entertainment. It was definitely a step up from the places the team usually went to after a case was closed. I mean, if this was all on the head honcho's payroll, we might as well make good use of it, right?

The familiar dim lighting and bass-heavy music greeted me, as it took a second for my eyes to adjust. Glancing around, I saw Kristen at the bar, and she waved me over once she saw me. I slipped OA's jacket off as I made my way across the room, trying hard to not bump into too many people.

When I finally made my way to the bar, she pulled out a stool for me and I slipped onto it. "Hey, isn't that OA's?" she asked, pointing to the jacket tied around my waist.

"Yeah, long story," I said, and she didn't question me.

"I'll just have a beer" I said to the bartender as I got settled in. One of us had to drive home, and I wasn't sure OA would be up to it after tonight. Both of us were pretty light drinkers, but I had a feeling he needed the reprieve tonight.

"So what's up with you and OA?" Kristen asked so innocently, her question didn't even register for a second.

A sip of my drink was already down my throat, and I nearly choked. "What do you mean?" I half demanded half gasped out.

She had her martini in her hand, and she raised her eyebrows at me when she responded. "I'm just asking if there's anything going on between the two of you. There are some rumors going on at the JOC."

"There's nothing going on between the two of us. We're just friends," I managed to ground out. I was a lot angrier than I should have been at that moment, but I didn't particularly care.

"Sorry I asked" Kristen said, her hands up in a mock surrender position.

I sighed. Kristen was one of my closest friends. I definitely shouldn't snap out at her over stupid things. Sighing once more, I picked up my drink and glanced at the door. OA entered in and glanced around before seeing the two of us at the bar. At that moment, I noticed two things that I had never noticed before. As soon as he walked into the room, his presence was known and all the young women in the room noticeably perked up. There was quite an audience of eyes focused on him as he made his way over to the bar. The second thing I noticed was how tired he looked. It had been a long case-nearly 28 hours, and we were all tired, but he had never shown any weakness before. Something must have been going on with him, but he would tell me when he was ready.

"Kristen, hey! Good work on the case today!" he congratulated as he took a stool for himself beside mine.

"Yeah thanks," she replied with a slight blush on her cheeks. She took another sip of her drink. I knew Kristen was a bit on the shy side when taking compliments. She sometimes couldn't see how intelligent she really was.

The night steadily progressed like this: mostly light conversation and a few drinks. Once in a while, someone would come over and congratulate us on our good work, but we couldn't take any of the credit. Solving a case was a team effort. Although me and OA did most if the legwork, none of that could happen without our backup, our superiors, and most importantly, the team back at the JOC.

* * *

We stepped out of the door into the cool, night, air. Fall was turning into winter, and the feel of snow was in the air. I mostly didn't mind the weather, coming from the Midwest, but every year, I never seemed to be prepared for it. I instinctively wrapped OA's jacket a little bit closer around me. It nearly came down to my knees, but it served its purpose well. Glancing up, I saw the muscle in OA's jaw tense up. A sign something was wrong. He had been acting weird ever since we had wrapped up the case.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to start off vague.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about stuff."

"Really?" I asked stretching the word. His jaw had tensed up again as he had said it. A sign that he was lying. He was great at keeping info from culprits, but when you really knew him like I did, you began to pick up on his 'ticks.' Basically everything that made him, him.

"Can we not do this now?" he asked wearily. He probably knew me well enough that I would question him until he gave in. From the tone of his voice, it sounded as if he were too weary. I knew when to drop it.

"Yeah, sure." I would definitely ask him later, but I would give him a respite from all the questions for now.

The rest of the trek back to the vehicle was pretty uneventful. We passed several stores that were still open. I chuckled to myself. New York, the city that never seemed to sleep was basically the opposite of the small town in Indiana where I had worked. Sometimes it didn't even seem real that they were in the same country.

We had passed the strip of stores, and were now walking on the plaza. It was surprisingly busy, but I guess you can't keep New Yorkers indoors on a Friday night, regardless of the weather. We shuffled in between groups of friends taking pictures, young families with kids taking a walk, and couples with their hands clasped together, having an evening stroll.

This last sight made my heart flutter a little. It reminded me of Jay, my husband Jason that had been murdered almost 4 years. We used to be like those couples. Walking hand in hand as we talked about the most meaningless things ever. I had thought it corny at the time, incredibly cliché and stupid but Jason had always been the romantic one in our relationship.

I looked over at OA again. He had seemed to notice the young couple as well, and had a strange look on his face. Was it longing? Sadness? He was probably thinking about this mystery woman of his, imagining romantic strolls with her.

I called over my shoulder. Somehow I had managed to get ahead of him, and now he was about 20 feet behind me.

"What's up?" I was beginning to get a little worried here.

"OA what's wrong?" He had stepped forward and had closed the distance between us, but he looked around.

"I think there's someone watching us," he muttered before pulling his gun out. I did the same, immediately trusting his instincts. He stepped to the side a bit, gun still in his hand, looking around. I did the same thing.

The din of sound around us seemed to disappear altogether, weapons in our hands, as we tried to find the source.

"Maggie get down!" OA suddenly yelled, aiming at the high-rise rooftop across the street. I just barely saw a glimpse of the rifle barrel, before something crashed into me, knocking me over. Multiple shots fired.

There was movement all around me, screaming and running, as people trampled each other to get out of the way. OA had already staggered to his feet, and I did as well, picking up my weapon and taking a few shots at the gunman. I could already hear OA on his phone calling in for backup.

I turned around, "Let's get….". My words were paused as I first saw his face. It was pasty white and wrenching in pain. He was keeled over, hands braced on his knees. Finally I saw the blood. It was pooling on the left side of his white dress shirt, becoming bigger by the second. OA was injured.

"OA"! I yelled, moving to his side, bracing him as best as I could as he toppled to the ground. One hand immediately bracing his head and neck, while the other found the wound, trying to block the flow of blood as best as I could.

* * *

Well, there you have it! I have no clue how many chapters this thing is going to be. I'm thinking at least 2, but it could be more. I'll try to update as fast as I can, but I don't exactly have a great record of that.


End file.
